Bellator MMA fighter Josh Koscheck has revealed exclusively to MMA PLUS that his grudge match against Paul Daley in London on July 16 will be his ‘last fight’.
The American promotion will make their British debut in July at the O2 Arena with Bellator 158, which features Koscheck vs. Daley II as well as another main event rematch between Heavyweights Kimbo Slice and James Thompson.
After an injury forced Koscheck out of his Bellator MMA debut back in January, The Ultimate Fighter season one competitor is ‘excited’ to finally get back into the cage this summer.
Koscheck said: “Everything is pretty well with me, just recovering from injury, trying to get back full-time and trying to just do the daily grind of getting in shape again. I’ve had about five months off with injury so it’s time to start getting back into shape because we got big things to do here come July. I’m excited about the opportunity to get back into the cage and do some fighting, for the first time in Bellator.”
The grudge match between Koshcheck and Daley is almost five years in the making. Both men fought at UFC 113 where Kos had his hand raised for a unanimous decision. However a sucker punch from Daley following the final bell saw UFC President Dana White ban the Brit from the promotion, for life.
With Koscheck already holding a one-up over Daley, the Yank agreed that it is a much bigger fight for his opponent than for himself.
He said: “I don’t think it’s a big fight, I think it’s obviously a big fight for him. I’ve already kicked his ass and had my hand raised the first time we fought. It’s a big fight for his fans and the people that want to see him try and get revenge for getting his ass kicked the first time and getting kicked out of the UFC for being a dickhead.”
In June, 2015 Koscheck announced his signing for Bellator MMA, kick-starting a wave of talent jumping ship from the UFC to the BMMA brand. 10 months later, despite still having not made his official debut, the 38-year-old announced his match-up with Daley will likely be his last.
“Well for me, it’s just another day at the office, trying to get my things back on track,” said Koscheck. “I think I’ve had a pretty good career, ups and downs throughout it, a lot of downs, a lot of ups, that’s just part of the game. But, I’m just trying to get back on track and build big fights, the only fight I have left in my tank is probably going to be the Paul Daley fight. This will probably be my last time. At this point, I’m going to put everything into my training camp, focus on training for Paul Daley.
“This is probably going to be my last fight, I can honestly say that, I want to beat Paul Daley’s ass and go out with a victory. This probably is going to be my last fight, just I’ve had a long career to the point where I have other successful businesses I am running and to the point where the training gets harder and harder.”
A pioneer of MMA, Koscheck admitted his ability to train becomes tougher everyday, making the huge occasion in London, in a fight which has defined the career narrative for both fighters, the right time to call it a day.
“Mentally and physically, everything and at the end of the day I want to be able to enjoy my life as far as not having injuries. I wake up everyday as it is now, sore neck, sore back, sore ankles, some days I can barely walk because my ankles hurt so bad. That’s just part of this game, part of the dedication I chose to do and put into this sport.”
You can hear the full interview with Josh Koscheck on this week’s edition of the MMA Plus podcast
